# Where are the "old" Law & Orders? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 31, 2007, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-old-law-orders/424741 "2007-10-31T17:22:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-old-law-orders/424741/41 "2007-11-02T05:35:06Z")
I stopped watched regularly when they brought in Dianne Wiest at the DA. Every minute of her screentime was worse than a two week bowel obstuction. It’s a shame because I utterly adored those early Ben Stone, Lenny Briscoe, Mike Logan, Carey Lowell seasons. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-old-law-orders/424741/42 "2007-11-02T07:02:43Z")
I watch TNT at odd hours, since I work at night. They dip into the older seasons now and then (although I haven’t seen a Paul Sorvino episode in about two years). Oddly enough, they had a **L&O: Trial By Jury** last week! ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-old-law-orders/424741/43 "2007-11-02T07:06:00Z")
[QUOTE=Green Bean] Really? Why did you not like him? [/QUOTE] He was very aggressive. And a sleaze. Perhaps that wouldn’t be so bad if he hadn’t had Jerry Orbach immediately before him. ---
**Author:** ![mamboman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@mamboman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mamboman)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-old-law-orders/424741/44 "2007-11-02T10:40:02Z")
While I think the quality of L&O has been remarkably high right across it’s run, for me the peak cast was Schiff-McCoy-Kincaide-Briscoe-Curtis-Van Buren I believe Kincaid was the best drawn character of the whole series - and Carmichael, sucessfully and Southerlyn, unsucessfully were just attempts to remake her. The episode where she was written out affected me for days after seeing it. On the whole, I prefer Stone to McCoy - Stone’s line “What do I want? The Mets in the Series, Peace of Earth and your client in Dannemora” is possbily my favorite grab from the whole show. Grand stuff. Long may it run! mm ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-old-law-orders/424741/45 "2007-11-02T13:07:38Z")
“The episode where she was written out affected me for days after seeing it.” Which was shown last night on TNT, btw. ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-old-law-orders/424741/46 "2007-11-02T13:24:20Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] I know why _I_ didn’t. The recurring bit where he’d threaten _sotto voce_ to beat up a witness/suspect (who then instantly submitted) irritated me. [/QUOTE] I liked Fontana okay, but I’m annoyed that they never followed up on his expensive clothes and tons of cash. I was sure it was going to tie in to some kind of corruption investigation. Another favorite moment from the series I just remembered… Rey Curtis is leaving the department to care for his wife, and Lennie says goodbye: “Anything-- I don’t care what time it is-- just pick up the damn phone, okay?” I love how the show would go episodes without touching on the characters’ personal lives at all, then hit you with one really heartfelt moment that shows the depth of their friendship. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-old-law-orders/424741/47 "2007-11-02T13:35:23Z")
Like Serena announcing that she’s a lesbian with about, oh, 10 seconds of screentime left for her character. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-old-law-orders/424741/48 "2007-11-02T14:00:10Z")
[QUOTE=JohnT] “The episode where she was written out affected me for days after seeing it.” Which was shown last night on TNT, btw. [/QUOTE] Yep. Jennifer Garner was in it! And Claire looks very pretty in a leather jacket and boots and her hair a little mussed. So, she calls her dad “Mac” and he’s a law professor? I liked that glimpse into the characters…Jack hated/respected his father, Lennie can never make it up to his daughter, and Van Buren knows watching a man get executed cannot bring her closure. No overload into their personal lives, just tantalizing little peeks that make you go “Oh, that’s why” so and so is like that. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-old-law-orders/424741/49 "2007-11-02T15:38:01Z")
I believe the cast didn’t like the episode where Claire Kincaid died. They didn’t want to have to show their character’s backstories that much. I think they liked the air of mystery about their character’s personal life. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-old-law-orders/424741/50 "2007-11-02T15:47:09Z")
[QUOTE=JohnT] Like Serena announcing that she’s a lesbian with about, oh, 10 seconds of screentime left for her character. [/QUOTE] I actually made a thread about this a while back. While she never talked about her lesbianism before her departure, the signs were there. > **[Why does everyone hate Elisabeth Rohm?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=359251)** > > I’m only halfway through this thread on bad actors in good TV series and Elisabeth Rohm has already been mentioned twice. And I don’t understand why. She’s had three major TV roles: Kate on Angel The Girl Lead on Bull ADA Sutherland on Law and... Just like the other characters, her personal life was never a major focus of the show. ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-old-law-orders/424741/51 "2007-11-02T15:52:23Z")
[QUOTE=ivylass] So, she calls her dad “Mac” and he’s a law professor? [/QUOTE] I think he was just an old college prof of hers, not her dad. The name on his office door said “Dr. Geller.” ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-old-law-orders/424741/52 "2007-11-02T16:06:26Z")
[QUOTE=Justin\_Bailey] I actually made a thread about this a while back. While she never talked about her lesbianism before her departure, the signs were there. > **[Why does everyone hate Elisabeth Rohm?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=359251)** > > I’m only halfway through this thread on bad actors in good TV series and Elisabeth Rohm has already been mentioned twice. And I don’t understand why. She’s had three major TV roles: Kate on Angel The Girl Lead on Bull ADA Sutherland on Law and... Just like the other characters, her personal life was never a major focus of the show. [/QUOTE] In the other thread, you mention one of the signs being > [@](#): > > - She never mentioned any kind of SO, male or female. That’s not true. I caught a rerun a while ago where she mentions her first boyfriend back in college (or something like that). ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-old-law-orders/424741/53 "2007-11-02T16:15:30Z")
[QUOTE=Robot Arm] In the other thread, you mention one of the signs being That’s not true. I caught a rerun a while ago where she mentions her first boyfriend back in college (or something like that). [/QUOTE] If there can be Lesbians Until Graduation there can be Straight Until Graduation. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-old-law-orders/424741/54 "2007-11-02T16:57:11Z")
[QUOTE=Autumn Almanac] I think he was just an old college prof of hers, not her dad. The name on his office door said “Dr. Geller.” [/QUOTE] At the end of their conversation he told her to call her mother. I took that to mean he was some sort of father figure to her. ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-old-law-orders/424741/55 "2007-11-02T17:56:22Z")
[QUOTE=H3Knuckles] Jerry Orbach is a very talented actor, but this will always be the only role I really associate him with. [/QUOTE] Yeah, it boggles the mind to think that he started out as a song-and-dance man. Hard to imagine that craggy, weathered voice crooning a tune. Sua ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-old-law-orders/424741/56 "2007-11-02T18:20:55Z")
[QUOTE=SuaSponte] Yeah, it boggles the mind to think that he started out as a song-and-dance man. Hard to imagine that craggy, weathered voice crooning a tune. Sua [/QUOTE] “Be our guest, be our guest, put our magic to the test! Tie a napkin 'round your neck _cherie_ and we provide the rest. Soup _du jour_, hot hor’dourves, why we only live to serve - Try the gray stuff it’s delicious! Don’t believe me, ask the dishes.” 😉 (from memory, of course). Actually, Orbach became known as a song and dance guy with his work in _The Fantasticks_. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-old-law-orders/424741/57 "2007-11-02T18:27:05Z")
[QUOTE=ivylass] At the end of their conversation he told her to call her mother. I took that to mean he was some sort of father figure to her. [/QUOTE] “Hello mother, Hello father. Here I am at The execution. It was really, Soul revealing. And my boss says my 'tude needs some retraining!” (Sorry). ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-old-law-orders/424741/58 "2007-11-02T23:15:19Z")
I got the impression Geller was Kincaid’s stepfather and I also don’t buy Southerlyn was a lesbian until it came out (heh) of nowhere in the final part of her final episode. It was sloppy and pointless, at best. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2007, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-old-law-orders/424741/59 "2007-11-03T07:49:51Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] I got the impression Geller was Kincaid’s stepfather and I also don’t buy Southerlyn was a lesbian until it came out (heh) of nowhere in the final part of her final episode. It was sloppy and pointless, at best. [/QUOTE] Remember the episode where a tear-soaked Jack McCoy talked about the scorching affair he and Claire had before she was killed? I think Elisabeth Rohm wanted to forestall any such talk of her character after she left. IIRC, she suggested/wrote that line herself. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2007, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-old-law-orders/424741/60 "2007-11-03T09:11:40Z")
I thought about this thread today when I tuned into TNT’s 3PM showing and saw credits with Michael Moriarty, Chris Noth, Jerry Orbach and Richard Brooks. I was thrilled, since this was my favorite lineup! And then the episode after the credits was a rotten stinky _Benjamin Bratt_ episode. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! What kind of lousy bait-and-switch move was that?! Seriously, I’ve never seen this happen before. Weird. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-old-law-orders/424741.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-old-law-orders/424741.md?page=4)